Monday, April 20, 2015

Icons

I was late to hear the news, but I read a story the other day about the return of Eastern Airlines to American skies. I remember Eastern competing with Delta, TWA, and American when I was young. That field has narrowed since, and airlines continue to merge.

What's particularly remarkable about this story, though, is that Eastern Airlines stopped operating in 1991. So, after over twenty years of simply not existing, the company is starting up again and trying to pick up where they left off.

To be fair, it isn't the exact same company. Corporate interests purchased the brand and all collateral to relaunch the company. And they aren't exactly picking up where they left off, but rather they are starting with charter flights and expanding from there. Still reviving a dead brand and company is a pretty monumental feat, and likely we will see this icon of the skies returning and expanding over time.

The story made me think about other dead brands, disappeared either through merger, bankruptcy, or other collapse.